The third and final stage of hijacking the mind as described in Steven Hassan’s book Combating Cult Mind Control is “refreezing,” which involves rebuilding the old self as a “new self” and solidifying that new identity.1Steven Hassan, Combating Cult Mind Control, Fourth Edition, Freedom of Mind Press (2018).
In this stage, the primary goal of the member is to get rid of their old self and act as their new, cult-approved self.
To this end, the member’s memory is distorted, minimizing the good things in their past and maximizing the perception of the old self as bad and sinful. The member is encouraged to leave hobbies, friends and family behind.2Hassan, supra.
Modeling is one of the main ways in which the new member adopts the new self. Older members show new members how to act. The ultimate “model” is the head of the church—in this case Ahn Sahng-hong and Zhang Gil-Jah, whom the WMSCOG consider God the Father and God the Mother.
Hassan speaks of the “loaded language” of the group, which members are taught to adopt. The WMSCOG uses phrases such as “God bless you” to greet others, “Thank Father and Mother” to express gratitude, “Bear good fruit” to encourage others to bring in new recruits, and so on.3Hassan, supra.
Members are pressured to give money to the church. In the WMSCOG, members are encouraged to “have no safety net,” which has resulted in members giving up career paths and emptying their 401Ks to donate to the church. The “sunken cost” discourages members from leaving, as does the perception that it’s harder to survive in the world due to lack of funds.
Sleep deprivation, lack of privacy, and relocation of members away from familiar surroundings are other tactics cults including the WMSCOG use to separate members from their “old self” and foster dependence on the organization.
Hassan writes that “research in social psychology has shown that nothing firms up one’s beliefs faster than recruiting others to share them.” Members in the WMSCOG are encouraged to preach to others as early as possible.4Hassan, supra.
All of these tactics continue for years, thoroughly cementing the new identity in the member, who then takes on the responsibility to train other recruits. “Thus,” Hassan writes, “the victim becomes victimizer, perpetuating the destructive system.”5Hassan, supra.